Ex-Newcastle man booed by Sunderland fans plus Norwich boss makes scouting trip to Stoke City

Danny Batth was the last player to leave the field after the Black Cats squad had thanked their travelling supporters.

Ross Stewart’s finish on the stroke of half-time had given them a second league victory of the season, continuing a strong start to the campaign for Alex Neil’s side. They have now taken eight points from five league games since returning to the Championship.

Here are some of the moments you may have missed following the 1-0 win at the bet365 Stadium:

Yellow cards aplenty

Alex Neil admitted after the game that Stoke ‘were probably more aggressive than we were anticipating.’

That was reflected by the number of bookings shown by referee Oliver Langford, who didn’t hesitate to use his yellow card, dishing out nine in total.

The lack of consistency frustrated the home supporters, who let their feelings known after Bailey Wright, who had been booked, brought down Jacob Brown on the hour mark, yet not even a free-kick was awarded.

Stoke’s Liam Delap was also walking a disciplinary tightrope after receiving a yellow card and making a heafy challenge. The teenage debutant was substituted minutes later.

Boos for former Newcastle man

Delap took the place of former Newcastle striker Dwight Gayle in Stoke’s starting XI, and the latter was brought on in the second half.

Gayle, who joined Stoke when his Newcastle contract expired earlier this summer, was booed by the away fans after stepping onto the pitch in the 60th minute.

The 32-year-old then squandered the hosts’ best opportunity of the second half when he poked an effort wide, after the ball bounced past Sunderland defenders Batth and Wright.

Batth returns to former club

Sunderland signed Batth from Stoke in January, after the 31-year-old centre-back had racked up over 100 appearances for The Potters.

The centre-back received a positive reception on his return to the bet365 Stadium, despite helping Sunderland claim three points and their first clean sheet of the campaign.

Batth tweeted after the match: “Important win for us. Good to see some familiar faces & thanks for the reception Stoke.”

A familiar face in the Stoke dugout

Some may have spotted a familiar face in the Stoke dugout, where former Sunderland defender John O’Shea came up against his former club.

O’Shea made over 250 appearances for the Black Cats and was appointed first-team coach at the bet365 Stadium in July.

The 41-year-old held a similar position at Reading last season following his retirement as a player in 2019.

Norwich boss in attendance

Sunderland will now prepare to face pre-season promotion favourites Norwich City at the Stadium of Light next weekend (12:30pm kick-off).

The Canaries beat Millwall 2-0 at Carrow Road on Friday night, courtesy of two goals from Josh Sargent, meaning head coach Dean Smith was free to attend Sunderland’s fixture at Stoke.

After a tricky start, Norwich have won their last two fixtures and taken seven points from their first five league games this season.

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